Jacksonville, Fla. – The Florida Junior Tour headed to Jacksonville this past weekend, but it certainly wasn't your typical Florida weather. Round 1 was a cloudy, windy day that brought temperatures into the mid 40's, and the feel like temperature got to as low as 22 degrees inbetween rounds, leading to an hour frost delay on Sunday morning. It was a true grind for everyone in the field, and we crowned two well deserving champions.
Boys (16-18)
At the conclusion of Round 1, it we saw a jam packed leaderboard at the top, as the difficult conditions prevented anyone from pulling away from the pack. Coming in with the only score of even par or better was Jamie Morgan, who fired a opening round of 36-36--72 (E). He was the definition of consistenty, as he avoided the big numbers and carded four birdies to match his four bogeys. Chomping at his heels and only one stroke behind was Ryan Nicholson & Shayaan Kim who both shot 73 (+1). No lead is ever safe, but with 11 more players within 5 shots of the lead, it was truly anyone's game heading into the final round.
After the hour frost delay, we saw much more favorable conditions than Saturday, as the wind was down and the sun was out. With some birdies in grasp, we saw a few players making a large jump up the leaderboard. Joseph (Ajax) LaNasa was one player that climbed the leaderboard early, as he carded 3 birdies and an unlikely eagle on the 11th to go three-under on the day to get within striking distance down the stretch. The biggest turnaround of the day though belonged to veteran FJT player, Shawn Coultoff, who was three under on the front, and kept things going early on the back with birdies on Holes 11 & 12. Coultoff found himself 5 under for the day, and tied for the lead with Shayaan Kim & Ajax LaNasa heading to the 14th.
A few groups behind Coultoff & LaNasa, and probably doing a leaderboard watching was Ryan Nicholson. Nicholson was making sure the rest of the field did not forget about him, as he carded birdies on 10, 11, 12, 13, & 14 to rocket up the leaderboard and take the lead! It was battle coming down the stretch as Nicholson gave back two shots with bogeys on 15 & 16 to forfeit the lead and be tied with Kim heading up 18. For all the marbles, and his first win, Nicholson made a clutch birdie on 18 to egde Kim by one shot in the end.
Girls (16-18)
Saturday's conditions prevented anyone in the Girls Division from shooting even par or better, but we still saw some stellar golf across the field. The Jupiter native, Grace Carter, lead the way with an fantastic opening round of 74 (+2). Carter's round was highlighted by birdies on Holes 5, 11, & 13, and was one under heading to the difficult stretch of Holes 14-18. She gave a few back to the field coming in, but still held a one stroke lead heading into Sunday's round. Sitting closely behind on the leaderboard, and hoping to come out on top was Emily Storm (+3), Ava Zhang (+4), Addy Vogt (+4), & Angela Chu Po Nip (+5).
Mid-way through the final round, we didn't see much movement at the top the leaderboard. Making the turn, Grace Carter maintained her one shot lead by carding an opening nine score of 38 (+2). Sitting one shot back, and hoping to make a back nine charge on Holes 1-9, were Angela Chu Po Nip & Addy Vogt. Carter started her back nine with a birdie, but then followed it with a costly double bogey on Hole #2. She still held onto a one shot lead coming down the stretch despite bogeys on Holes 5 & 6. She bounced back with an impressive birdie on Hole 7. Vogt bogeyed three of her first five holes after making the turn, but was still able to pick up a shot on Carter. She matched Carter's birdie on Hole 7 and sat one shot back going to the difficult 8th. Both players parred the hole, and then Carter had an untimely bogey on 36th hole, giving Vogt a chance.
The two ended up tied at the end of Sunday's round, and went to a play-off. The first play-off hole was #16, and that's all that was needed. Carter made a clutch par, while Vogt made a tough bogey to end the weekend. Carter captures another victory to keep her impressive run going, as this marks her 5th victory since the end of 2023, and has yet to have a finish outside the Top 5 in any FJT event.
